EDIT: I added a few things… can anyone tell I have ADHD yet?

When keeping a plant alive, you need to look up how it likes to be in the wild, and try to EMULATE that best you can. Monstera deliciosa has root rot? Well in the wild their roots are very compacted, maybe that gallon sized pot needs to be downsized. They also grow on trees, give it some support, etc

Cast iron cookware: when seasoning the item you need to apply the thinnest layer of oil possible. It should look almost like you’re trying to wipe the oil away or clean it.

PC building: your local electronics recycler is an amazing place to get simple fundamental equipment. You won’t find a 5090 in the bin, but you’ll find cheap ram, any cable you need is 1$, hell, my NAS is a 22tb (after redundancy) raid array where I paid 7$ for each 2tb drive. Sure, it’s slower and clicks like hell sometimes, but it’s in a closet, and I can lose a few drives before I lose my data.

Car/motorcycle repairs: your local chain auto shop probably loans/rents specialty tools. (This is pretty well known but still) need a tool to compress your brake cylinders when changing pads? It’ll cost 10$ rather than like 80$.

Gardening: mulch. In my area the sun is an absolute killer in the day while I’m working, so laying mulch over the soil keeps it from drying as fast

Cooking: following recipes isn’t that hard for most things, the way you know that you’ve really leveled up is when you start to realize how certain flavors and textures interact, and come up with something new or, more often, start modifying and improving recipes

Terrariums: the most crucial aspect is the amount of water. It will easily make or break (or kill) your plants and design. A good drainage layer, followed by chunkyish soil, and a layer of peat moss is the way to go most times. Also, BUGS. springtails and isopods are a learning curve but are an insanely helpful group of fellas.

Code golf:

If you think there is no way eval can save bytes, there is

If you burry a fresh carcass, you need to put big stones on the grave or something will dig it up.

It’s funnier without context.

My niche hobby was late night coming home drunk pizza baking.
While resting the dough is a normal part of the process, falling asleep is not good.

Language learning: I tricked myself into building a daily flashcard study habit by using gambling as an incentive. I bought a box of Magic the Gathering packs and allowed myself to open one a day only after I had finished my daily flashcard study. According to Atomic Habits it takes roughly 50 days for a habit to be set in stone as part of your daily routine. A full box of Magic packs took me to day 36. Feels like a bit of an unethical life pro-tip, but once you’re over that hump of forming the daily habit it becomes a lot easier, so find a way to hack your brain and make it feel rewarding until it becomes automatic.

Don’t split the party

Closest I got to a hobby is reading a shit ton of books. Highly recommend listening to an audiobook while you read a physical copy, cannot stress enough how much this helps me focus.

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Hiking/backpacking (not exactly niche?)

1. Don’t buy a ton of stuff for day hikes. You need less than you think. If you carry enough for an overnight there is a good chance you’ll be so slowed down that you’ll end up staying overnight.
2. Carry the ten essentials. GPS’ run out of battery and you can end up in areas without satellite reception. Always have a compass and paper map and visualize your route before going if you are backpacking in deep. Be aware where roads and bailouts are relative to your route.
3. Occasionally look behind you to get an idea of what the route back will look like if you’ll be returning the same way.
4. If it doesn’t look like a trail stop, you need to backtrack to the last sure spot. Don’t plow ahead blindly thinking it will resolve itself.
5. Winter hiking means less daylight and more stuff (slower). Plan accordingly.
6. “Mountains generate their own weather”. Bring some light raingear and insulation even if it is warm at the trailhead. I’ve started in 80+ temps and gotten snow near summits.
7. Carry hiking poles. They are invaluable for things like stream crossings. They saved me from breaking a leg stepping down boulders once.
8. If the trail is blazed and you can’t see them look up and behind you for them, sometimes they are painted high up for snowpack.
9. Carry traction (ice creepers) if going up into the mountains in spring/fall. Early/late snow and ice is common. In winter bring crampons.
10. Always check the weather, especially for mountain hikes. Be ready to turn back or change your plans if the weather looks sketchy. Don’t get “summit fever” just because you made a special trip.
11. If you are shopping for gear spend the most on boots. They will be the major deciding factor in how comfortable your hiking is. Make sure to break them in before a trip. I’ve been on a multiday mountain trip where a guy had brand new boots and his feet were bleeding by day 3.
12. If winter hiking and there is a snow pack wear gaiters (or built in ones). Snow in boots = cold/wet feet = frostbite. I’ve seen too many people have to turn around because their boots were getting packed with snow and they were suffering.

I’ve found this to hold true in almost every hobby I have but particularly in technology, engineering and music playing/making: avoid hitching your wagon to one approach. It’s easy to get trapped under a pile of ‘musts’ when trying to do anything that you are skilled in, but that’s also the worst environment for innovation; and almost every innovation in your hobby of choice was borne from people pushing boundaries, not forcing themselves to fit within them.

One of the biggest things that most amateur filmmakers or video makers make is not getting sufficient tone.

Before shooting, record a fairly long stretch of just the ambient sound in the area where you’re filming so that when you are editing, it can be laid under the audio tracks and help to smooth out the jumps in audio from different clips.

Hobby: Chess

Tips: Ill state a few mistakes here that I see beginners do a lot (mistakes that I also made as a beginner and had to learn to not do and why not to do them).

1. Don’t give check just because you can give check. Beginners love to just check you with zero follow up. Its like it creates a sense of purpose for their moves but without a proper follow up it is a waste of a move.

2. Consider the fact that I can make moves and formulate my own plans. Half the game is what you play and the other half is what your opponent plays. If you only consider your moves/plans, I, and any chess player beyond a beginner, will easily beat you.

3. Every move has a purpose. If you make a move and I ask you why you made that move and you cannot provide a reasonable reason, then you either wasted a move or got lucky and just happened to guess a good move.

4. Dont try to learn opening theory as a beginner. You should learn the three main opening principiles (develop you pieces, get your king to safety, and control the center of the board) and some very common lines to play but after that you should move on to the middle game and end game. Revisit opening theory once you understand the game at a deeper level. It will make it easier for you.

5. You paid money and spent time travelling to tournament. You have over an hour on the clock and you oppenent just made a move. Stop and think for a moment. Dont rush your moves and try to play instantly all the time. You waste time, money, and the day since you played like shit (whats the point?).

6. (Last) Do NOT have an ego or underestimate your opponent. Especially of they are a little kid. There are two types of kid chess players: the ones who learned how to play 5 minutes ago and the ones that humble you. Very little in between there. There are two types of (non-kid) chess players: those who think a 10yr old kid by default sucks at chess, and those who have played enough kids to realize what the fuck is up. It is funny to watch the former turn into the ladder. Those kids at tournaments are such wild cards

I got seriously into speed cubing about a year ago. I don’t even know where to begin giving tips. There’s so much to learn. 🙈

At least I’ve reached my goal for 2025 and am now averaging around 30-35 seconds. I was at about 3 minutes when I was using the beginner’s method. Now using CFOP.

Need to learn more OLL algorithms though.

Why wouldn’t you buy a sub from a speaker company? Here’s one for audiophiles: if you want real good sound look at studio equipment rather than expensive hifi stuff. A high end studio interface plus a pair of full range studio monitors will sound more accurate than any hifi setup.

And another one: listening experience is 95% acoustics. Don’t bother with speakers above say 2k if you’re not willing to invest money and space into proper acoustic treatment.

a percolator can be used as a Soxhlet extractor

I made some spicy ginger extract.

also be really careful if you’re going to be an idiot like me and use a flammable solvent like grain alcohol.